Author Educator Speaker

Exploring culture, communication, and connection through stories, people, and nations

Ideas for a World of Differences

Speaking Across Cultures

Ned Legaspi speaks about what happens when stories, people, and ideas cross cultures.

He draws on three decades in international media, continuing scholarship, and cross-cultural practice, and brings the C3 Bamboo Framework into rooms asking how stories travel, how people work across cultures, and how institutions build understanding across borders.

The sessions help audiences notice cultural differences, ask better questions, and connect across them.

No two rooms are the same.

Ned Legaspi speaking about the CIS Bamboo Framework at Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Ned Legaspi presents the CIS Bamboo Framework at Texas A&M University-San Antonio in November 2025.
01 Keynotes
02 Conference Talks
03 Masterclasses
04 Learning Sessions

The Three Lenses in Practice

From Stories to People to Nations

The C3 Bamboo Framework moves across three connected lenses: the stories we tell, the people we work and communicate with, and the nations and communities seeking to understand one another.

Ned’s speaking and learning engagements bring these lenses into different rooms, from classrooms and creative communities to healthcare institutions and diplomatic conversations.

01

Stories

Helping Stories Travel Without Losing Their Roots

At the Ateneo de Manila University, Ned brings culturally intelligent storytelling into the classroom through masterclasses and learning sessions for creators and communication professionals.

Using the CIS Bamboo Framework, these sessions look at how culture shapes character, creative choices, and the way an audience reads a story.

Culturally Intelligent Storytelling masterclass with Ned Legaspi at Ateneo de Manila University
A masterclass on Culturally Intelligent Storytelling developed for the Department of Communication at Ateneo de Manila University.
02

People

Working Across Cultures Begins With Understanding People

In healthcare and other professional settings, culture shapes how people communicate, treat authority, voice expectations, and build trust.

At Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills, Ned spoke with Filipino healthcare professionals about culture, communication, adaptation, and connection in cross-cultural work and life.

These conversations extend the C3 Bamboo Framework beyond storytelling into the everyday realities of professionals working across cultures.

Ned Legaspi with members and organisers of the Fil-Am CARES Employee Resource Group at Cedars-Sinai
Ned Legaspi with members of the Fil-Am CARES Employee Resource Group following his Cultural Intelligence session at Cedars-Sinai. With special thanks to Janeth Zafra-Mauricio, whose invitation made the session possible.
03

Nations

Building Understanding Across Borders

Cultural diplomacy runs through stories, media, exchange, and long human relationships as much as through formal policy.

Ned’s conversations with diplomatic leaders and institutions explore how culture and communication shape the ways nations and communities understand one another.

These have included conversations with senior diplomats, among them the ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom to the Philippines.

Ned Legaspi in conversation with Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez in Washington, D.C.
Ned Legaspi in conversation with H.E. Jose Manuel G. Romualdez, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America, at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of the Philippine Embassy. Meeting arranged with the assistance of Nerissa Fernandez.
Ned Legaspi in conversation with Philippine Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. in London
Ned Legaspi in conversation with H.E. Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. at the Philippine Embassy in London, United Kingdom. Photo courtesy of Igi Bumagat. Meeting arranged with the assistance of Luis Bariuan.

The Landscape

Across Industries, Institutions, and Communities

Culture shapes how people communicate, lead, learn, and care for each other. Ned takes the C3 Bamboo Framework into settings where those differences have real consequences.

Ned Legaspi presenting at the SOAS Philippine Studies Conference in London
Ned Legaspi presenting at the Philippine Studies Conference at SOAS University of London.
  • Media and creative industries Three decades of international content and cross-border media work.
  • Migration and global mobility Shaped by early encounters with Filipino communities abroad.
  • Education and learning Lectures, classrooms, conferences, and facilitated conversations.
  • Healthcare and care work Where communication, hierarchy, trust, and cultural expectations meet.
  • Business and organizations Culturally diverse teams, clients, and communities.
  • Faith, church work, and mission Across communities and cultural contexts.
  • Public service and global engagement Institutional and diplomatic conversations.

The Collaboration

Start a Conversation with Ned

Tell Ned about your audience, event, or cross-cultural question. Share what you are planning, and he will take a look.

Speaking Inquiries

[email protected]

Local and International Speaking Engagements

Conversations Across Countries, Cultures, and Contexts

Ned has spoken at universities, conferences, organizations, and professional communities in the Philippines and abroad, in rooms as different as a lecture hall and a hospital break room.

The approach does not change much: understand who is in the room, connect the ideas to what they actually do, and leave them with something that still works on Monday.

Selected engagements, and the questions each room brought with it.

See All Engagements